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Valda opened her white eyes to nothing and answered, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve been quiet all afternoon.” Maris slanted her head and frowned. “Did something happen between Eyphah and you?” Her silence was louder than the words she didn’t want to say. “Valda.”

Valda’s face shifted to where Maris stood, which was unsettlingly accurate to the Sealian’s position. It sent a chill down Maris’s spine, and she tried her best to hide the ragged breath escaping her lungs.

“I am jealous,” Valda whispered into the cold air in the room.

“Jealous? Why are you jealous?”

Valda grimaced, not wanting to answer. “I am jealous of Eyphah.”

“Eyphah?”Maris snorted dramatically. “Please!”

“It’s not that I am jealous of the attention she might get from you.”

“If any…”

Valda waved her hand, asking Maris to be quiet. “Ever since I lost my vision, I have had to deal with the fact that I am missing things.”

Maris opened her mouth to protest. To tell her she wasn’t missing much, that there was nothing she should feel jealous of, but instead, she allowed Valda to voice her worry.

“I miss watching the sunrise and sundown on my kingdom. I miss seeing the faces of my people working at Ophelia Plaza. I miss how Ophelia City looked when I stood from outside my balcony. There was something magical about all the flickering lights disappearing into the night as people settled to sleep.” Valda scratched her neck awkwardly. “But today, I was talking to Eyphah, and she started saying some things which, I have to say, bothered me.”

“Like?”

Valda’s face contorted in pain. She covered her eyes with her left hand, rubbing her eyebrows in exasperation. “When you went to talk to the musicians, she said something about you. I didn’t allow her to go into detail but…”

“And that bothered you?”

“Of course it did! Imagine that bitch having the privilege to look at you! I wish I could just scoop her eyes out of her sockets.”

“Valda!”

“It’s…” she sighed and slumped on the sofa. “It’s not fair.”

Maris nibbled her lower lip then patted her knees before standing up. The wood underneath her feet groaned as she made her way towards Valda. She moved Valda’s hands away from her lap and slowly settled herself in it. She wrapped her arms around the queen’s torso and rested her head on her broad shoulder.

“I am sorry.”

Valda sighed under the welcoming warmth and weight. She cradled Maris closer and pressed her nose to her temple, inhaling deeply. “Don’t be.”

“You shouldn’t be jealous, though,” Maris whispered, one hand moving to grab Valda’s thick wrist. “Want to know why?”

Valda grunted and squeezed Maris’s body tighter. “Why is that?”

“She can look all she wants, but you,” she took Valda’s heavy hand and placed it over her left breast. “You, Your Highness, can touch.” With a sly smirk, Maris squeezed Valda’s hand tighter over her chest.

Valda’s body tensed, and her breath hitched as a calloused hand gripped her tighter. “Can I?”

Maris nodded, “Touch…” She squeezed her hand once again before slotting their lips together in a chaste kiss. “Kiss—”

“Lick, suck, bite,”Valda added, pulling Maris in to grind her bottom on her lap.

Maris chuckled into the kiss, heat scorched through her, settling low on her stomach. She could feel her own heartbeat inside her head and between her thighs. “Yes, you can do all that.”

“How about fuck?”

“Definitely, fuck.” Maris sighed, a soft moan escaping her mouth as Valda’s hand dipped to cup her bottom.